Delhi fought through a
bitter struggle on Saturday and had just enough big plays to come out with the
win.
Walton played a game of ball
control and power offense (13 first downs), while Delhi played a game of coming
up with some big plays (3 plays of 30+ yards and some very key pass receptions
of lesser yardage).
Delhi gave up one first down
on Walton’s first series, but then forced the Warriors to punt. On Delhi’s first
play, Pat O’Connell hit Nate Rockefeller on a flood pattern, and Rockefeller
found substantial room down the right sideline for a 31 yard gain. Delhi gained
a few more yards, but the drive stalled when Brenton Hood was dropped for a loss
on third and short and Delhi failed to convert on fourth down. Walton took over
and again gained another first down, but was forced to punt. Delhi went nowhere
on the next series, and punted the ball back to Walton. Walton then began a
beautiful drive that took them from deep in their own territory to deep into
Delhi territory. The drive took the remainder of the first quarter, and a very
large part of the second quarter, as Walton moved the ball mostly with Richard
Fletcher on leads from Walton’s basic offense and dive plays out of the
I-formation. As Walton got inside the Delhi 15 yard line, QB Kyle Holley was
dropped for a 3 yard loss on 1st down, which proved to be the drive
killer. Walton got some more positive yards, but couldn’t quite come up with all
that was necessary before Geoff Rosa took Holley down short of the 1st down
marker on 4th down. Delhi took over and was able to pick up a couple
first downs to give them some breathing room, but time expired before they could
take any cracks at going deep for a score.
Delhi sprung out of the
blocks in the second half as Nate Rockefeller took the very first handoff from
his 20 to Walton’s 30. The drive nearly stalled there on a couple short runs and
an incomplete pass, but O’Connell was able to find Taylor Sohns on
4th down after some scrambling, and the drive was kept alive. A
couple plays later Nate Rockefeller reached the ball across the goalline on a 4
yard TD run. Jason Wake was stopped within inches of the goalline on the 2 point
conversion.
Walton soon responded with
another great drive, and this time they would not be denied. The Warriors’ trio
of Richard Fletcher, Kirby Fletcher, and Robert McLachlan all gained good yards
on the drive, including a 28 yard gain by McLachlan and an 11 yard gain by Kirby
Fletcher on a lightning quick hitter after coming across in motion. Richard
Fletcher finished the drive with a 3 yard run. McLachlan was stood up before the
goalline, so the score stood at 6-6 not quite half way into the 4th
quarter.
Delhi got the ball back on
their 36, and a pass completion to Sohns on a post pattern gave Delhi the ball
on their 46. Hood then made the play of the day, accelerating through a very
nice hole, and exhibiting enough speed to pull away from all Walton defenders.
Hood’s 2 point run was stopped short, but Delhi had a 12-6 lead with just over a
half quarter to play, and Walton’s time consuming offense needing to get it done
right away.
Walton was able to drive the
ball just inside Delhi territory, taking several minutes off the clock in the
process. Delhi’s defense stiffened, and Walton was faced with 4th and
4. The Warriors attempted to go outside, but fumbled the ball. Richard Fletcher
picked it up, but was stopped well short of the 1st
down.
Delhi took over on downs,
and was able to get a key 1st down on a 4th down pass
(gutsiest call of the day). Delhi then got a 5 yard run on 1st down,
but only a yard on 2nd down. A delay of game penalty brought it to
3rd and 9. Delhi was able to complete a 5 yard pass to Nate
Rockefeller. It was still short, but it kept the clock moving. The
4th down play failed to convert, so Walton had one more shot with
under 2 minutes to play.
On
Walton’s first play, Holley threw a deep ball that fell into the outreached
hands of Delhi cornerback Jason Wake. Delhi was then able to run out the clock
to secure the hard fought victory.
While Delhi’s rushing total
of 159 yards is well below its previous average of 327, it still represents the
second most they’ve had in the last 7 games against Walton, and the 6.6 yards
per carry average is the best over that time period.
After coming through this
tough challenge with flying colors, Delhi now turns its attention back to the
division schedule and the race for the playoffs. Delhi plays a key game against
an outstanding Sidney squad on Friday night in Sidney.
Third
Quarter:
Fourth
Quarter:
Walton – Richard Fletcher 3
run (run failed)
Delhi rushing: Brenton Hood 11-76, 1 TD; Nate Rockefeller 9-71, 1 TD; Jason Wake 3-10; Pat O’Connell 1-2
Walton rushing: Richard Fletcher
32-103, 1 TD; Robert McLachlan 10-62; Kirby Fletcher 8-32; Kyle Holley 4-2; Sean
Fisher 1-1
Walton passing: Holley 0-4, 1
INT
Walton receiving: None
Delhi Tackles: (tackles-assists) Nate Rockefeller 12-7; Jeremiah Warren 7-9; Chad Rockefeller 6-4; Jeff Daye 6-4; Alex Fletcher 6-0; Josh Wake 5-4; Geoff Rosa 4-3; Kevin Rossley 3-3; Taylor Sohns 2-4; Jason Wake 2-3; Mike Rama 1-3; Milan Sova 1-1; Derek Plance 1-0; James Card 0-1